apartment for rent toronto

Someone in Toronto is renting out a makeshift room in their apartment for $800 a month

With Toronto's average rent price for a one-bedroom apartment now surpassing a staggering $2,400 a month, more and more questionable listings continue to infiltrate websites like Kijiji and Facebook Marketplace. 

In an effort to appeal to prospective tenants who are operating under a tight budget, landlords in and around Toronto have been known to transform inadequate — and in some cases, terrifying — spaces into "living areas" just to make some extra cash. 

Recent examples include a horrifying basement apartment for $1,450 a month, a laundry room advertised as a bedroom for $550 per month in Brampton, and a bed located smack dab in the middle of a kitchen for $350 a month. 

The latest questionable listing to hit Toronto's rental market is a shared living room converted into two "bedrooms" by a partition, with a cordoned-off section of the room renting for $800 per month. 

$800/month to sleep in a living room sectioned off with a divider
byu/mybluntside inSlumlordsCanada

The ad, which was posted to Kijiji, boasts the "unit's" proximity to TTC bus stops and stations. However, the landlord quickly glosses over the fact that the only "privacy" tenants will have is that provided by a flimsy partition that separates the "bedrooms." 

On top of the sky-high rent, tenants are also asked to pitch in extra for the electricity and internet bill. 

"How the hell are they getting away with this in highrises. Oh I'll rent the apartment, then re-rent it out. Not even subletting. Surely this is against their tenancy agreement?" one person asked in a Reddit thread highlighting the listing.

"Omg. Just when you think you've seen it all. Nope," another person said. 

"They'll probably partition half the bed too, ridiculous," one comment reads. 

Unfortunately, some landlords in the GTA have already attempted to list shared beds for rent just to earn additional income. Last month, a landlord in Toronto's Rexdale neighbourhood was slammed for offering up half of their own personal bed for an undisclosed rent price. 

In another case earlier this year, a landlord in Ajax listed a shared king bed for $550 per month, while another Toronto landlord made headlines in October after they listed half of their own bed for $900 a month

While some Reddit users encouraged tenants to report and avoid similar listings, others rightfully pointed out that some renters in Toronto might not have alternative options, especially considering just how pricey the city's rental market has become. 

Lead photo by

Kijiji


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